Pearl Drums

[Tubwompus]

Another "Girl with Pearl kit":
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I think I’ve just seen my next ex-wife.

 

[funkypoodle]

I was responsible the set-up room at our local drum fest (Ralph Angelillo International Drum Fest) this weekend (a post will be written when I have time). Greyson Nekrutman played a phenolic Pearl President reissue kit & I have to say that these are mighty nice sounding drums!

 

[Lamontsdad]

@frankmott Hoshino is definitely like Pearl. My buddy in the guitar biz didn’t like dealing with them AT ALL.

 

[doubleroll]

I love my Pearl Masters MRX kit and use it as my main gigging set for the last 15+ years. It’s still looks and sounds great, hardware is heavy but rock solid and it’s never let me down no matter the gig…The 20” bass drum sounds killer mic’d or not. I bet my Sonor and Gretsch are a bit jealous

 

[equipmentdork]

I have 3 Pearl kits in my arsenal(2 MLX and an early Session), a Masters Studio snare which really kills, and various Free Floater snares including the original run around '87 or so, steel shelled. I had an Export back in the 90s for a hot second.

I have, and actually like, the ISS mounts. They're not my favorite, but they don't bug me.

Guess I didn't realize there was so much Pearl hate here. My first real bass drum pedal back in the 70s was a Pearl(yes, Peter Criss influence) and yep, it's still on my practice kit.

I had one weird experience with Pearl, when I ordered the Masters Studio snare in '96 or so.

I have no affiliation with any companies. But, the ones who have done right by me(Yamaha, Sabian), get repeat business from me.



Dan

 

[DanRH]

Nothing wrong with Pearls at all. I've had a few of them. I added INDe mounts on my Wood Fiberglass kit.

 

[Houndog]

I have 3 Pearl kits in my arsenal(2 MLX and an early Session), a Masters Studio snare which really kills, and various Free Floater snares including the original run around '87 or so, steel shelled. I had an Export back in the 90s for a hot second.

I have, and actually like, the ISS mounts. They're not my favorite, but they don't bug me.

Guess I didn't realize there was so much Pearl hate here. My first real bass drum pedal back in the 70s was a Pearl(yes, Peter Criss influence) and yep, it's still on my practice kit.

I had one weird experience with Pearl, when I ordered the Masters Studio snare in '96 or so.

I have no affiliation with any companies. But, the ones who have done right by me(Yamaha, Sabian), get repeat business from me.



Dan

Is there really that much Pearl hate ???

Can a person say something they don’t care for about a brand and not get labeled with “ hate “ ????

Or just in general, geeez !!

 

[CigarScott]

Here's my Masterworks kit in Waterfall Bubinga kit on a DrumFrame. The drums are 12ply maple with inner mahogany. You would be hard pressed to find a better sounding set of drums. The bass drums are THE best 22" I've ever played. The drums are gorgeous. Pearl makes great drums.


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What's your Paiste setup? I also have a Masterworks kit with a ton of Paiste's.

 

[slow larry]

I teach and have helped a lot of young people (and not so young) buy their first kit. In my experience Pearl has the most reliable mass produced low end and entry level kits. No bearing edge damage, no metal burrs still on the hardware, no out or round shells, no wood splinters, no missing parts in the box. These are all issues encountered with other major brands entry level kits, especially Ludwig (burrs/splinters/damage) and Yamaha (out of round shells/missing parts).

 

[equipmentdork]

Is there really that much Pearl hate ???

Can a person say something they don’t care for about a brand and not get labeled with “ hate “ ????

Or just in general, geeez !!

Hate is awfully strong word, so maybe I misspoke, but there has been more than just a spot of Pearl-bashing in this thread.

Dan

 

[Nubs]

This is my first Pearl ever. I'll be honest in saying I bought it for the color alone, but it is actually a very nice kit. Currently my only one:

 

[rkingston]

This is my first Pearl ever. I'll be honest in saying I bought it for the color alone, but it is actually a very nice kit. Currently my only one:

Cool kit! And nice rug — really ties the room together. Hey, what are those crispy looking hats?

 

[Lamontsdad]

I would never hesitate to recommend a Pearl kit to a noobie. They are solid from the low end all the way to the top.

 

[TheElectricCompany]

I’ve owned 4 Pearl kits and will always play Pearl but… I agree that the tom mounting system/tom arms are awful.

Hey JY, you're only the second PDF member I've seen on here besides Dale. Still counting the days until it's back online, which I know will probably be never...

 

[mattr]

I’ve only had Pearl kits. My first was an Export I spent a summer/fall mowing lawns for, for my Xmas gift. It was $800 in 1990… I guess an equivalent set and hardware kit today are much cheaper, and an $800 kit today is much better quality and materials. Win win! Pearl was also well rep-ed in local small mom & pop music stores near me.

Tama had some goofy hardware and big direct mounts in the early 90s. Ludwig was all but absent, their hardware was straight out of the mid-1970s. Pearl had a great starter kit with the Export… other than the stool, everything else was solid (the single chain bass drum pedal was excellent).

Having worked for Zildjian, which is hard to argue a better looking iconic logo… Pearls logo is not good. It might be vain, but that’s not “nothing” in a competitive landscape for shaping opinions. Especially when the competition has some iconic looking branding.

 

[Rhyma Hop]

I’ve only had Pearl kits. My first was an Export I spent a summer/fall mowing lawns for, for my Xmas gift. It was $800 in 1990…

1990 Exports were around $600 with hardware from what I recall.. and they were very well built.. probably better than all the competition.

Today an Export with hardware is around $900

 

[D. B. Cooper]

I bought brand new pearl cymbal stands mid 70's they all had the white plastic sleeve inserts so no metal to metal contact of the tubes. Absolutely brilliant and innovative. the plating was flawless still look great today. That was my first introduction to the Brand. I was a Ludwig guy.

Fast forward half a centry later, I found an '84 Import kit on the side of the road. The full kit, hardware , cymbals the whole enchilada. I was pretty stoked about it!
Well cared for looked like they never left the house still had all the original heads.
have them cleaned up, reheaded except for the bass reso, its too cool to swap that thing out!

Like many have said, the hardware is absolutely bulletproof. the drums are 8 ply and solid as a rock, I mean you wack the toms with a good overhead rimshot and they don't budge.

After spending some time with new heads, breaking them in and fine tuning they play and sound darn good. I've had Gretsch Rogers Slingerland Ludwig Sonor Premier just to name a few so I've got a good bench mark for quality drum sound. These things do Rock very well.
Just for fun I've thought about re doing the edges to perfection, They're not too bad but could certainly be better and I can imagine the overall tone would be improved. It's still amazing how evenly and clean they tune up.

So anyway I like 'em enough they're going to my next gig in Oct!
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Even the snare?

 

[UptownShakedown]

if you want to hate Pearl then cool, whatever but these drums sound killer. Only issue is the badges are kinda ugly.

 

[JY Kelly]

Love their snares.
Sets ,meh.

Hey JY, you're only the second PDF member I've seen on here besides Dale. Still counting the days until it's back online, which I know will probably be never...

Yeah, the PDF is mort. Never to return.

 

[BeatMeToIt]

I own 2 Pearl kits, one from 1976 wood-fiberglass and a 2004 Pearl Master Custom MRX 6-ply Maple. Which have seen a lot of hours and I’ve never had one issue. Why the hate?
They offer great kits at affordable prices unless you’re getting the Masterworks line. My kit from 1976 holds up just as well as the modern kits today.
Every company has made a dud-kit every now and then, it’s just how it goes. It’s about picking an instrument that works for you. With proper tuning and heads you can get a low-end kit to sound good. And regarding Pearl taking ideas from other companies, please don’t look too closely at DW… *cough* Camco *cough*. I’ve owned free-floaters and they sounded great, I sold a CB-700 and a Maple FF and kinda regret doing so since they did sound pretty darn good.